cover image Cultivating Chaos: How to Enrich Landscapes with Self-Seeding Plants

Cultivating Chaos: How to Enrich Landscapes with Self-Seeding Plants

Jonas Reif, Christian Kress, and Jürgen Becker. Timber, $40 (192p) ISBN 978-1-60469-652-3

Rational gardeners spy self-seeding flowers (spiderwort, loosestrife, Korean rock fern) and run for the hoe, but landscape designer Reif and Kress, owner of Sarastro Perennials nursery in Austria, persuade the panicky to rethink these so-called invaders. They reason that under careful policing, a garden with self-seeding plants can be made artful with rivers of repeated plantings. Becker’s photos of bountiful, lush gardens with waves of colors easily substantiate this claim. The authors further convert readers to their experimental approach by discussing the advantages of gardening with self-seeders (quick results, inexpensive, suitable for beginners, etc.). They also address the life spans of a variety of annuals, biennials, and short- and long-lived perennials, and discuss preparation of lots and plots, including raising and lowering the pH of the soil as needed. Among instructions and strategies are profiles of gardeners and gardens, and an annotated list of self-seeders. This book is a great resource for gardeners willing to think outside the “plot”. Photos.[em] (Aug.) [/em]